Take the Happiness Pledge

What is the Happiness Pledge? It's a commitment to support actions that help you reach your true potential.

When we maximize our potential and create value in our own lives, we bring up others with us along the way. That’s something worth being intentional about.

Individuals in the United States today still have an opportunity, unseen anywhere else in history, to achieve better outcomes by earning their own success. They do this by pursuing happiness — striving to achieve the moral promise that makes for a fulfilling life.

Take the Happiness Pledge to show that you believe you are capable of reaching your maximum potential, however you are inspired, and that you wish to encourage others to live a life of dignity and purpose.

The Pledge

"I believe the American dream is alive and achievable. I pledge to take an active and intentional role in the development and expression of my family, my community, my work, and my faith. All Americans are able to pursue a life of satisfaction, and the best way to do that is by creating value in my own life. I commit to build on these areas of my life so that I'm in a position to serve as an example to others. I pledge to pursue my happiness, which is the true embodiment of the American dream."

What’s The Next Step?

Your life experiences are valuable. We want to hear what you’re doing that makes a difference TO YOU so that we can all learn how to better serve ourselves and one another.

To "sign" the pledge, create an account on The Maven. It’s easy. Just hit the “follow” or “login” buttons at the top and left sides of the page, and give yourself a username and password. When you are signed in, you can add to the comments at the bottom of this page or start to share with others immediately your life experiences and examples of intentional and positive actions you have taken to pursue your happiness.

All you need to do is go to the section of the topic you want to discuss — family, community, work, or faith — and click on the "conversation" (for short comments or a link) or the "story" (if you want to add a title and a picture) at the top of the page. Then share your thoughts and post. Others will be able to learn from you and comment back to you about what you've shared.

Pursue Your Happiness!

You can pursue your happiness in any fashion that works for you, but here are some examples that make a difference for each of us in our own way. Have you done any of these? Feel free to give an example in the story or conversations in any of the sections.

1) Treat others, especially poor people, as assets to develop not liabilities to just “deal with.”

2) Contribute articles and participate in discussions with like-minded people here at The Pursuit of Happiness.

3) Discuss your ideas on social media in a respectful manner with the willingness to hear new ideas.

4) Participate in activities that help to restore dignity and sense of purpose to people experiencing hardship.

5) Help others acquire a new skill, either through passing on your knowledge in a volunteer opportunity or teaching a young person close to you. Share those experiences with us!

6) Attend a speaking engagement by a member of a business association, church group, or community organization on the subject of individual empowerment. Tell us about what you learned!

7) Read with your children, help children with homework, or attend their after-school activities.

8) Share opportunities to join local training programs and other efforts that assist people in finding paths back into the workforce.

9) Tell us about businesses you've seen that enable people to retain and return to jobs after taking a leave of absence.

10) Promote programs that assist people with disabilities to contribute in a meaningful way to their communities.

11) Advocate for U.S. leadership to build a strong and virtuous character among domestic and international institutions.

12) Treat American Exceptionalism as the unique trait it is — one that embodies the belief that our natural rights empower us to pursue our goals free of institutional barriers that inhibit success, and that our unique American liberties and privileges are something to cherish and work hard to preserve.

The purpose of the Happiness Pledge is to help you envision a personal goal to better your own life and the lives of those around you. Sign the pledge and begin sharing your life experiences!

My favorite of these is definitely #12. There is something that has set the United States apart from any other country in world history, even most other Western countries. Right from our start, our country was founded on (then) radical principles of liberty and self-governance. These ideals spread across the continent, and pervaded the hearts of the people living here. With that belief in us, we became the world's wealthiest nation, and opportunity exists for anyone who wants to seize the day. We must emphasize this public virtue, that there is something unique about the United States, and that it is worth working hard to preserve.